Narendra Modi to address annual UNGA session on 28 September, likely to attend ‘high-level summits’ on sidelines

United Nations: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the annual UN General Assembly (UNGA) session on 28 September, according to a provisional list released by the UN of the world leaders scheduled to speak at the 74th session of the United Nations. Modi is also expected to attend multiple high-level summits on the margins of the General Assembly session as well as hold bilateral and multilateral engagements during his visit to New York. As prime minister, Modi had given his maiden address at the UNGA in 2014. His address to the world leaders at the UN in September will be his first after winning a second term as prime minister in a resounding electoral victory in May. According to the first provisional list of speakers for the General Debate of the UNGA session, Modi will address the summit in the morning of 28 September. The General Debate will commence on 24 September and run through 30 September. [caption id=“attachment_6649901” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. PTI[/caption] US president Donald Trump, who had delivered his first address to global leaders from the General Assembly hall’s iconic green podium in 2017, will address the session on 24 September. The US is traditionally the second speaker on the opening day of the General Debate, after Brazil. Before arriving in New York for the UNGA session, Modi is expected to visit Houston where he will address the Indian-American community on 22 September. “Howdy, Modi!, the Indian-American community summit, will be hosted by the Texas India Forum, the Houston-based non-profit. Several high-level summits will be held on the margins of the 74th session of UN General Assembly. Aiming at boosting ambition and accelerating actions to implement the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will host the 2019 Climate Action Summit on September 23 to meet the climate challenge. The UN will also host the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Summit on 24 and 25 September. The world leaders will gather at the UN Headquarters to follow up and comprehensively review progress in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development and the 17 SDGs. The High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) under the 74th session of the General Assembly is the first UN summit on the SDGs since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda in September 2015. According to the list of speakers, Pakistan’s Head of Government is scheduled to address the global leaders on 27 September. The initial speakers’ list indicates that about 112 Heads of State, nearly 48 Heads of Government and over 30 Foreign Ministers will arrive in New York to address the General Debate. In 2015, Modi had addressed the high-level UN Sustainable Development Summit ahead of the General Debate when world leaders had adopted the ambitious 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, an intergovernmental set of aspiration Goals with 169 targets. Modi had also attended the UN Peacekeeping Summit hosted by the then US President Barack Obama. In the summit, Modi had announced that India will contribute an additional battalion of 850 troops for UN peacekeeping operation.